Known in the art are various paperboard forms or corners for protecting merchandise. The forms are usually mounted or fitted onto the corners or edges of a product before the product is loaded into a packaging box, or shipped from one destination to another.
In general, paperboard forms are constructed from multiple plies of a paper product such as corrugated cardboard or other paper products known in the art. A “ply” of paperboard can be a single paperboard sheet, or can be composed of many paperboard layers laminated or adhered together so as to form the ply. In order to make the known paperboard forms, multiple plies are laid one atop the other, and each ply is attached to another by an adhesive such as glue. Other adhesives can include polyvinyl alcohol, polyvinyl acetate, dextrin, and acrylic. Each ply can have a thickness in the range of 15-45 points, depending on the merchandise to be protected. The term “point” is used in the art to measure thickness, and 10 points are equivalent to 0.010 in. or 0.25 mm. Once laid atop one another and glued, the plies are folded into the desired shape, typically a corner with a 90° bend. Each ply can be coated with a chemical substance so as to provide a certain degree of structural rigidity and water resistance.
One example of a known paperboard corner is described in US patent application US 2005/0087663 A1 by Schroeder, which was published on Apr. 28, 2005. This document describes an elongated edge protector for protecting an edge or corner of an article. The edge protector is made up of a plurality of paperboard plies laminated together and formed into a rigid substantially right angled member. A layer of plastic laminate is adhered to the outside faces of the legs.
Another example of a known corner is U.S. Pat. No. 7,299,924 B2 to Robinson, which was granted on Nov. 27, 2007. This document describes an edge protector made of a blank sheet of foldable material, such as corrugated paperboard. The sheet has a plurality of laterally spaced parallel fold lines dividing the sheet into consecutive panels to allow for folding of the panels into overlapping engagement. First and second legs are formed from the overlapping panels.
The following documents also relate to paperboard products or forms: U.S. Pat. No. 6,527,119; U.S. Pat. No. 5,813,537; U.S. Pat. No. 4,771,893; U.S. Pat. No. 4,399,915; US 2012/0000815; and JP 5229574 A.
Also known in the art are the substantial drawbacks associated with such conventional paperboard forms. The type of paper used for some types of conventional corners is generally thick and dense, such as corrugated paperboard, and the cost of such paper contributes to the relatively high production costs for such corners, and especially for thicker corner forms. For applications in which the corners are to be strapped, the paperboard is selected mainly as a function of its cost and therefore may not provide the desired rigidity and resistance to tearing that is desired when transporting, packaging, or strapping certain merchandise. The only known way to increase the resistance of conventional protective forms is to use thicker types of paperboard or to add additional plies. It would be thus be desirable to be able to manufacture a paperboard protective corner which would be as resistant or more resistant than conventional cardboard corners, while being less expensive and if possible, thinner than conventional cardboard forms. Furthermore, the material making up conventional corners is often selected based solely on cost, and there is therefore a wide variance in the type and quality of material used. With such corners, even if they are of the same thickness and have the same dimensions, their physical characteristics (resistance to strapping, tearing, etc.) can vary greatly.
Hence, in light of the aforementioned, there is a need for an improved paperboard corner, which by virtue of its design and components, would be able to overcome or at least minimize some of the aforementioned prior art problems.